


Fun With Split Personalities

by Stars_Under_Skin



Category: The Kane Chronicles - Rick Riordan
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-27
Updated: 2013-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-14 00:12:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16482413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stars_Under_Skin/pseuds/Stars_Under_Skin
Summary: Walt's 'death' through his own eyes.





	Fun With Split Personalities

**Author's Note:**

> This was a story I posted to Fanfiction.net in early 2013 and I am posting it here for convenience.

I was exhausted. The potion had only prolonged the inevitable.

But I couldn't leave her. Not yet.

Neith stalked closer. I glanced at the lightening sky - just a few moments more. Please.

"It's a shame, really," Sadie spoke quickly, nearly running her words together.

Neith paused. "What is?"

Sadie chuckled nervously. "Six edible parts of a palm tree. It's seven, actually." Sadie managed to sound disappointed in Neith.

"Impossible!"

"Oh, yes? Have you ever lived off the land in the Covent Garden? Have you ever trekked through the wilds of Camden Lock and lived to tell about it?"

Neith's bow wavered. "I do not know those places."

Sadie's chin jutted out. "I thought not! Oh, the stories we could've shared, Neith. The tips for survival. Once I went for a whole week on nothing but stale biscuits and the juice of the Ribena."

"Is that a plant?" Neith looked unwillingly fascinated.

"With every nutrient you need for survival. If you know where to buy - I mean, harvest it."  
Sadie lifted her wand dramatically. "Why, once, in my bunker at Charing Cross Station, I stalked the deadly prey known as Jelly Babies."

_. . . Sadie, what the hell are you doing?_

Neith's eyes widened. "Are they dangerous?" She breathed.

"Horrible. Oh, they seem small alone, but they always appear in great numbers. Sticky, fattening - quite deadly. There I was, alone with only two quid and a Tube pass, beset by the Jelly Babies, when . . . ah, but never mind. When the Jelly Babies come for you . . . you will find out on your own."

"Tell me." Neith said gravely. "I must know how to hunt Jelly Babies."

Sadie looked at me, her blue eyes warning me to play along. "How many months have I trained you, Walt?"

It only took a moment to think. "Seven. Almost eight."

So little time for so much to have happened.

"And have I ever deemed you worthy of hunting Jelly Babies with me?"

"Uh . . . no."

"There you have it!" She knelt on the rampart floor and began tracing with her wand. "Even Walt is not ready for such knowledge. I could draw for you here a picture of the dreaded Jelly Baby, or even - gods forbid! - the Jacob's Digestive Cream. But even that knowledge might destroy a lesser hunter."

Neith apparently hadn't realized that Sadie had drawn protective hieroglyphs. She inched closer, eyes wide and glued to the glowing figures. "I must know."

Sadie glanced to her right. "Well . . . First, you must understand the importance of timing."

"Yes! Tell me of this." She said eagerly.

Sadie quickly tapped the hieroglyphs and activated her spell. "For instance . . . It's sunset. We're still alive. We win."

_Sadie Kane, you are absolutely brilliant._

Neith's expression hardened in fury. "Trickery!" She howled, raising her bow.

She lunged at Sadie, but the protective glyphs flared and pushed her back. I took a step towards her, alarm flaring as the urge to push Sadie behind me, where she would be protected welled up within me.

Neith raised her bow and shot her arrows.

The arrows were heavily enchanted, because they sailed right through the protective barrier.

Sadie screamed as I darted in front of her, pushing her farther back. I snatched the arrows out of the air, and they crumbled to gray dust, scattering in the wind.

Neith stepped back, a horrified look on her face. "It's you. This is unfair!"

I glared at her. _How dare she try to shoot Sadie._ If I was going to die, Sadie would not be joining me.

"We won." I spoke through gritted teeth. "Honor your agreement."

She glared back at me. I didn't back down. Her jaw clenched, and she hissed as she shifted backwards a few inches, backing down.

"Very well. You may go. When Apophis rises, I will fight at your side. But I will not forget how you trespassed on my territory, child of Set. And you - "

She directed her glare towards Sadie behind me. "I lay this hunter's curse upon you: someday you will be tricked by your prey as I have been tricked today. May you be set upon by a pack of wild Jelly Babies!"

Terrifying. Neith dissolved into a pile of twine.

Something was off. I cocked my head, listening intently. The magic shockwave was trembling.

"Child of Set?" I turned at her accusing tone. "What exactly - "

"Look out!" The temple began to crumble. The magic shockwave contracted almost painfully, and the landscape transformed to Egypt. I took hold of her hand and we ran down the stairs, barely making it in time.

The last walls were nothing more than worn bricks, but the shadow of Bes was still visible, though it was slowly fading as the sun descended.

"We need to hurry." Was my throat sun burning, or was it just me?

"Yes. But how do we capture it?"

Somebody cleared their throat. I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them again, releasing Sadie's hand.

"I'm sorry to intrude." Anubis didn't sound sorry at all. "But, Walt . . . it's time."

_Of course it is._

I shuddered, and sweat beaded on my forehead. My head pounded, and my breath seemed too hot, too hot, too hot . . .

My vision went fuzzy, and I staggered.

Hands gripped my shoulders, and lowered me to the ground.

"Walt, you have to stay with me. We have business to finish."

Yes. Business to finish . . .

"Business to finish?! Anubis, what are yo doing here? What is going on with you two? and What bloody business?"

Sadie. She sounded quite terrified, and I thought of what it must look like. Anubis, the god of death, saying to me, who is marked for death, that we have business to finish.

"Sadie - "

I moved to sit up. "I tried to tell her."

"I see. Couldn't get a word in edgewise, I guess?"

I managed a pitiful smile. "You should've seen her talking to Neith about Jelly Babies. She was like . . . I don't know, a verbal freight train. The goddess never stood a chance."

"Yes, I saw. It was endearing, in an annoying sort of way."

It was very endearing.

"I beg your pardon?" Sadie looked as if she didn't know which one of us to slap first. Her beautiful face was turning red with suppressed anger.

"And when she turns red like that."

"Cute." I agreed.

"So have you decided?"

"Yes. I can't leave her." Leaving was not an option. It never was.

"Neither can I. But the shadow first, right?" Anubis squeezed my shoulder encouragingly.

I coughed, and fire wound its way around my lungs. "Yes. Before it's too late." Anubis helped me stand and walked me over to Bes's shadow.

"Can you do it?" He asked.

"Are you questioning me?" I muttered, pulling a block of wax out from my bag with shaking hands. I began kneading it into the shape of Bes. "Setne tried to make it sound so complicated, but I see it now. It's simple. No wonder the gods wanted this knowledge kept out of mortal hands."

"Excuse me." Sadie interrupted. I looked up at her, and Anubis turned. "Hi, I'm Sadie Kane. I don't mean to barge in on your chummy conversation, but what in the blazes are you doing?"

"Capturing Bes's shadow." Said Anubis, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sadie seemed to be at a loss for words - a first for her. "But . . . But if that's the business you were talking about," It isn't, Sadie. "then what was all that about decided, and leaving me, and - "

"Sadie," I interrupted. "we're going to lose the shadow if I don't act now. You need to watch the spell so you can do this the shadow of the serpent."

Her face was set with determination. "You are not going to die, Walt Stone. I forbid it."

It was nearly painful to ignore her. "It's a simple incantation. A regular summons, with the words 'shadow of Bes' substituted for Bes. After the shadow is absorbed, you'll need a binding spell to anchor it. Then - "

I began to shiver. My teeth were chattering, and chills ran up and down my spine.

"Walt, stop it!" She begged.

" - then for the execration, you'll need to be in front of Apophis. The ritual is exactly the same as normal. Setne lied about that part, there's nothing special about his enchantment. The only hard part is finding the shadow. For Bes, just reverse the spell. You should be able to cast it from a distance, since it's a beneficial spell. The shadow will want to help you. Send out the _sheut_ to find Bes, and it should . . . should bring him back."

"But - "

"Sadie." Anubis pulled her into his arms, trapping her in a secure hug. "Don't make him talk more than he has to. He needs his strength for this spell."

_Thank you, Anubis._

I took a deep breath, ignoring the fire in my lungs, and began to chant. I pressed the wax figure of Bes against his shadow on the wall.

The wax absorbed the shadow, turning black as kohl as it did. "Hi-nehm." The hieroglyph blazed silver against the black wax - Bes.

It was done. I allowed myself to slump forward as the pain welled up. My breathing hitched at random intervals.

Sadie cradled my head in her arms. I tried to force my eyes open, to look at her. "Worked. Now . . . send the shadow to Bes. You'll . . . you'll have to - "

"Walt, please. We can get you to the First Nome. Their healers might be able to - "

"No, Sadie . . . " Sadie loved Bes, and I needed her to do it, if it would make her happy. "Hurry." I pressed the figurine into her hands.  
The world was turning blurry. I watched as she reversed the spell, with black eating away at the edges of my vision.

Have I closed my eyes, or has my vision gone black?

_**Are you ready Walt?** _

_Didn't I already answer that question, Anubis?_

_**She's going to hate me for this. She thinks that I left her. That we left her.** _

_But we didn't._

_**She'll think that we did. Think about it. She's alone right now, not even Carter's here . . .** _

I heard his unease in his voice.

_What's wrong?_

_**Carter's not here. He's with Setne, with the Book of Thoth. Sadie is here, and she's the magician of the pair. Sure, he's with Zia, but how quickly do you think it'll take him to knock her out?** _

_It's a trick._

And then there's another presence inside my head, two hearts, two sets of lungs, two thoughts in my head. One is mine, and one is his.

I can suddenly breathe again, and I open my eyes, looking for Sadie.

_**We have to tell her, Walt.** _

_I know._

"Walt!" And Anubis I thought, but didn't say _that_ aloud. Tears tracks covered her cheeks, and I tried to raise my hand to wipe them off.

"The gate." My voice still shook slightly. "Sadie, hurry. You know the spell now. It will work on . . . on the serpent's shadow."

She wiped the tears from her face. "Walt, what happened? What gate?"

I raised my hand weakly and pointed behind her, at the rectangular door of darkness.

"The whole quest was a trap. Setne . . . I see his plan now. Your brother needs your help."

_**She's going to want us to go with her.** _

"What about you? Come with me!"

_**Told you.** _

I ignored his smug tone. The two voices/one head thing was giving me a headache. He was always there, watching and acting, agreeing and arguing.

I shook my head as I propped myself up on my elbows. "I"m still too weak. I will do my best to summon reinforcements for you in the Duat - you'll need them - but I can barely move. I'll meet you at sunrise, at the First Nome, if-if you're sure you don't hate me."

Her brow crumpled. "Hate you? Why on Earth would I hate you?"

I smiled sadly at her. Oh gods, what if she did hate me? Hate us? I don't think I could handle heartbreak two times over.

Fear wormed it's way into my stomach. I couldn't tell if it was my fear, his fear, or a mixture of both.

"Look."

Her eyes unfocused as she lowered her vision into the Duat. After a few deadly silent seconds, her face contorted in horror.

"Oh . . . no, no." She stumbled to her feet and away from us. "What have you done?" She became more horrified with each passing second.

Is the sound of my heart breaking audible?

**_I hope not._** Anubis whispered brokenly. I nearly winced at the pain in his voice.

"Sadie, it-it's me." Is the pain audible in my voice? "Still me."

Anubis echoed the last two words. "Still me."

"No!" Her legs were trembling.

"I can explain." Anubis spoke at the same time I did, our voices melding. "But Carter needs you help. Please, Sadie - "

"Stop it!" She screamed at us. Sadie turned and leapt through the door of darkness.

I jumped to my feet, suddenly finding the energy to do so. "Sadie!" I roared, but the door was gone.

We stood there, surrounded by worn mud bricks and the remnants of our hearts.

"Sadie?"

There was no answer.


End file.
